1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to construction equipment and, more particularly, to a hinged saw table that includes a sliding carrier upon which a portable table saw may be mounted, and a hinge mechanism that enables the hinged saw table to be vertically rotated for storage on top of any machine to which it may be attached.
2. Description of Related Art
In saw operations executed on stock or a workpiece, the stock must be held in place to safely perform the saw operation. A serious problem occurs when a work piece unexpectedly falls or shifts. The workpiece can become twisted, changing the angle of the cutting plane and rendering the workpiece unusable. Even worse, an uncontrolled or unstable workpiece can endanger the operator.
In the field of table saws, portable table saws with the ability to execute saw operations such as a miter cut have been constrained to temporary tables, makeshift stands or folding tables. Alternatively, table saws have been placed on a variety of work benches, pick up tail gates, truck beds or just flat on the ground prior to executing a saw operation such as a miter cut at a site away from a shop.
These existing solutions are unsafe at worst and at best awkward and cumbersome. Additionally, many of the existing solutions do not lend themselves to easy storage. It is therefore beneficial to design a hinged saw table that overcomes the limitations of the existing solutions.
In order to overcome the disadvantages of existing solutions, it would be advantageous to provide a table for a portable table saw that allows the operator to execute a variety of saw operations including miter cuts and 90° cuts and that allows for easy storage of the table. The present invention overcomes the limitations of the existing solutions by providing a table for a portable table saw that allows an operator to execute a variety of saw operations while allowing for easy, convenient storage of the table and portable table saw.